It was not the best year for Mexico; 2014 will be remembered for violent acts that shook the country, most notably the abduction and likely massacre of 43 teacher-trainees ("Normalistas" in Spanish), the execution of 22 people by the Army and the ongoing killings by powerful criminal groups of thousands of Mexicans, including two journalists and three Catholic priests.

The year also witnessed major new corruption scandals and controversies over alleged conflict of interest by government officials, which resulted in a crisis of confidence engulfing President Enrique Peña Nieto, his closest collaborators, major political parties and institutions, such as the Army.

The rapidly deteriorating internal situation overshadowed some of Peña Nieto's 2014 successes, including the arrest of one of the world's most wanted criminals and the approval of an historic energy overhaul opening Mexico's vast oil sector to foreign capital for the first time in decades.

Demonstration in Mexico City (Photo credit: Fernando Luna Arce)

Peña Nieto ends the year with his popularity plummeting. According to a recent survey, the president's disapproval rating has soared to 52%, the highest in his tenure and more negative than those of his two predecessors at this point in their terms; 38% of respondents said they did not believe Peña Nieto "one bit."

"In addition to the probable massacre of the students," wrote Los Angeles Times' Mexico correspondent Tracy Wilkinson in a year-end analysis, "the clear connection between politicians and organized crime and perceptions that authorities handled the case [of the 43 students] poorly, Peña Nieto and members of his inner circle have also been hit with allegations of conflict of interest in the awarding of lucrative public-works contracts."

The allegations are connected to a government contractor who built a luxury mansion for the First Lady and sold a resort house to a powerful cabinet minister.

The Financial Times and The Economist blamed Peña Nieto for the crisis by prioritizing economic reform while playing down law and order as the way to modernize Mexico.

Some of the highlights of 2014:

Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán: The year began with the extraordinary arrest of drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán in his home state of Sinaloa in February. Guzmán had been a fugitive for 13 years. Up until then, no action by the Mexican or U.S. governments against Guzmán, including targeting his multimillion-dollar money laundering operation, had been successful. His success as the U.S.’s #1 supplier of illegal drugs –as the head of the Sinaloa cartel— was attributed to his immense power to bribe corrupt Mexican officials. Despite a handful of indictments in the U.S. against Guzmán, the Mexican government has refused to extradite him.

Oil Reform: Just as dramatic as Guzmán's demise was the approval of an energy reform of historic proportions in August. The new law opens Mexico's oil sector to domestic and foreign private capital. By signing the bill into law, Peña Nieto ended 76 years of state control over the country's vast oil resources. The long-overdue reform was welcomed by the business and international community. The willingness of U.S. oil companies to invest in a far from stable country with a reputation of corruption will be tested when the first round of auctions begins in 2015.

The Kidnapping Of 43 Students: The abduction, and likely killing, of 43 teacher-trainees from Ayotzinapa, a remote town in the impoverished mountains of Guerrero in September, created the biggest political crisis for Peña Nieto's two-year old government. Until then, Peña Nieto had won praise from the international investment community for pushing through major economic reforms, including the energy reform.

The Mexican government claims the students were killed and burned by gang members under orders of corrupt local officials. But three months later, only one of the students' bones has been identified.

"It's A State Crime" (Photo credit: Fernando Luna Arce)

The public reacted with outrage to what appears to be one of Mexico’s worse human rights atrocities in half a century. Daily demonstrations in the streets condemned the government’s poor handling of the case and called for Peña Nieto’s resignation.

The First Lady's Mansion: In the midst of the public outrage over the students, a major possible conflict-of-interest scandal erupted involving a lavish mansion built for Peña Nieto's wife Angélica Rivera by a contractor who later was awarded part of a $4.3 billion rail contract. Hours before the story hit the press, Peña Nieto cancelled the contract with the company, Higa, owned by Juan Armando Hinojosa, a Mexican businessman close to the President and his inner circle.

The political backlash deepened when The Wall Street Journal reported early this month that Mexico's powerful Finance Minister Luís Videgaray also bought a home from Hinojosa at an exclusive golf resort outside Mexico City. Videgaray, Peña Nieto's closest political ally, has publicly denied any wrongdoing.